The Hollywood Revue

Released Nov 23, 1929

1h 56m

Musical

List

43%

7 Reviews

Tomatometer

18%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

The top performers of the 1920s strut their stuff in this star-studded variety show. Actress Joan Crawford displays her singing talents with "Got a Feeling for You." Comedy duo Laurel and Hardy bring on the laughs with their magic act, and Conrad Nagel turns on the romance by singing "You Were Meant For Me." In the revue's second act, silent star Buster Keaton performs an under-the-sea dance, and Norma Shearer and John Gilbert hilariously lampoon "Romeo and Juliet."

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Louisa E

This wasn't a movie; just a bunch of acts, and therefore I don't think it should have been eligible for the Best Picture Oscar. I think it would have been fantastic for people of the day to see their favourite stars in this kind of production. It had some pretty cool acts. My favourite was the contortionists/dancers and I loved Marie Dressler. But overall, I found it pretty boring but I understand that this would have amazed people of the day. 5/10.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Only the Technicolor sequences have any cinematic life to them. The rest is static filled with vaudeville. If talkies were invented circa 1906 they might have looked like this as it is primitive. If vaudeville was like this, no wonder it's dead.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

There is no plot, plenty of bad jokes, bad costumes, bad songs and hard to hear lyrics. It was a string of short vignettes that were often bland and very outdated. This movie is really only worth it for cinephiles to see how far movies have come over time. This style of movie with revues has been redone and much better several times over, like with the follies girls. You could see what they were trying for with elaborate sets, their idea with many perf/costumes, many cameos...but it was so unrefined, amateur, and clumsy thank God movies and musicals are better now. This was back when movies tried to replicate theatre versus the other way around, before movies discovered themselves as their own art form.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

steve d

If it has no story, I am out.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

What a tedious piece of entertainment. This is a film that relies almost completely on star cameos as you get a young Joan Crawford dancing and singing, Norma Shearer performing scenes from Romeo and Juliet and an early rendition of "Singin' in the Rain." Unfortunately there is no substance under all of the glitz and glam which leaves a modern audience who are less receptive to the charms of these movie stars from another era rather bored. As a historical artifact the film is rather interesting as you see what early MGM productions were focused upon and what audiences at the time would flock to the cinema to see. The film also makes you feel fortunate that cinema has progressed beyond what it was 90 years ago and musicals would become far more sophisticated in the years to come. The Revue is hosted by Hollywood superstar Conrad Nagel who invites Jack Benny, Joan Crawford, Marion Davis, John Gilbert, Norma Shearer, Bessie Love and other big performers to pad the running time. The gags aren't particularly funny, the performances won't entertain modern audiences and if you want to hear "Singin' in the Rain" I would urge you to watch the 1952 film of the same name which is far superior to this cash grab.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

david l

The Hollywood Revue of 1929 is a curious product of its time which is entirely plotless, overlong and mostly forgettable, but with a couple of interesting segments with the highlight being the classic song Singin' in the Rain. It is most definitely not nearly as appealing now as it was when it came out, but still the sheer amount of stars in it makes it a somewhat fascinating time capsule.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Charles Reisner

Director

John Gilbert

Himself

Norma Shearer

Herself

Joan Crawford

Self

Stan Laurel

Stan

Oliver Hardy

Ollie

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Variety Staff

Variety

No semblance of a story, and considering cast nobody is going to care.

Jul 22, 2008

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

MGM's entry in the cycle of all-star studio revues that came with the advent of sound; it was by far the most popular, though the waning of some of the celebrities featured makes it seem a little creaky today.

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Mordaunt Hall

New York Times

It is a talking and singing film free from irritating outpourings of coarse slang or a tedious, sobbing romance.

Rated: 3.5/5

Jun 24, 2006

Full Review

Robert Herring

Close Up

Not the The Hollywood Revue isn't fun, but it's so disappointing and silly.

Jan 19, 2021

Full Review

Jack Moffitt

Kansas City Star

It has a legion of stage and screen personalities participating, it is tuneful and part of it is in natural colors.

Jun 23, 2020

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

An early sound musical, this plotless revue, emceed by Conrad Nagel and Jack Benny, is a big mishmash with Shearer and Barrymore acting and then spoofing the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, and Joan Crawford not only dancing but singing too!

Rated: C

Mar 3, 2008

Full Review

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Synopsis

The top performers of the 1920s strut their stuff in this star-studded variety show. Actress Joan Crawford displays her singing talents with "Got a Feeling for You." Comedy duo Laurel and Hardy bring on the laughs with their magic act, and Conrad Nagel turns on the romance by singing "You Were Meant For Me." In the revue's second act, silent star Buster Keaton performs an under-the-sea dance, and Norma Shearer and John Gilbert hilariously lampoon "Romeo and Juliet."

Director: Charles Reisner
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Genre: Musical
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 23, 1929, Original
Runtime: 1h 56m